


Call Me Taichi

by tazerlicker



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Brief mentions of other characters - Freeform, Facebook, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Sexual Content, Texting, bad break ups, nameless ex-significant others
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-10
Updated: 2017-10-10
Packaged: 2019-01-15 17:34:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12325629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tazerlicker/pseuds/tazerlicker
Summary: Alternatively: Third Time's the CharmA journey through Shirabu's relationship experiences from Kawanishi's perspective.





	Call Me Taichi

**Author's Note:**

> Background: I hc that Kawanishi and Shirabu were roommates in high school and became best friends.
> 
> Also shoutout to @darkfire75 for inspiring all of my osashira thoughts lol
> 
> Inspired by @darkfire75's story, For Him

In his third year of high school, Shirabu Kenjirou decided to step outside of his comfort zone and enter a relationship. She had been one of the few classmates that he’d considered a decent acquaintance. She was fairly cute and well-liked among the rest of the students. Her confession hadn’t been a surprise exactly, but Shirabu had sort of shocked himself when he accepted. Their relationship hadn’t progressed very far but Shirabu had grown attached enough that it had hurt when she broke up with him with no explanation. His roommate Kawanishi remembered well how that night, Shirabu had curled up in his bed and refused to budge or talk for 24 hours.

 

“You know it’s okay to cry, Kenjirou,” he had said gently.

 

“I’m fine.” had been the short response.

 

Kawanishi heard the slightest shake to his voice and knew better than to push it.

 

After graduation, Shirabu and Kawanishi had stayed in touch, talking almost every day. One late night phone call, Shirabu told him about a guy he’d met in class. He’d told Kawanishi in the most hesitant voice Kawanishi had ever heard come out of him that when he’d kissed his ex-girlfriend, it hadn’t felt… right. Kawanishi voiced his support and asked about this new love interest (“Kenjirou. I lived with you and watched you eat cereal without milk like a fucking monster for three whole years and you’re concerned that I’m going to judge you on what gender you prefer to kiss? You can’t possibly be serious right now. Now tell me all about this guy.”) Shirabu’s voice had lightened considerably as he told his best friend about this handsome guy with a sweet smile and charming personality. They were going out for lunch the coming weekend and they’d been texting everyday. Kawanishi had been glad that the disastrous relationship in high school hadn’t deterred Shirabu from seeking relationships but he still secretly worried for his friend.

 

His worries were found to be warranted when a year later, three days passed without hearing anything from Shirabu. It had been a Friday night so Kawanishi bought a train ticket and headed over to Shirabu’s apartment. He had knocked, waited several minutes, and been about to kick the damn door down when it finally opened.

 

Shirabu had looked completely exhausted. He was pale with dark circles under his eyes. His hair was uncharacteristically messy and his clothes were extremely wrinkled.

 

“What the fuck, Kenjirou…”

 

When Shirabu realized who was standing in front of him, his composure shattered and he cried harder than Kawanishi had ever seen. Kawanishi was just as awkward with comforting people as Shirabu but he did his best, hugging him and patting his back. Once Shirabu had gotten ahold of himself, he explained to Kawanishi that his boyfriend had broken up with him after sleeping with him. He’d been Shirabu’s first and Shirabu had only agreed to it because he thought their relationship had been meaningful to both of them. Kawanishi’s stomach twisted into a knot and his blood boiled as Shirabu’s flat voice recounted what the guy had texted to him to end their relationship. Kawanishi had forced Shirabu into the shower and went to pick up some food in the meantime. They spent the night on Shirabu’s couch watching stupid movies, eating Shirabu’s favorite snacks, and overall just forgetting the asshole that had broken his heart.

 

A year and a half went by without incident. Kawanishi had been lazily scrolling down his Facebook feed one day when he noticed a pattern.

 

_Kenjirou Shirabu likes Osamu Miya’s post._

 

_Kenjirou Shirabu commented on Osamu Miya’s post._

 

_Kenjirou Shirabu was tagged in Osamu Miya’s post._

 

Kawanishi’s eyebrow quirked. That name sounded familiar. He clicked on the profile and pulled out his phone.

 

[Text Message]

[To: Kenjirou]

[Hey. What’s new?]

 

[Text Message]

[From: Kenjirou]

[Hey Taichi. Nothing really. Why?]

 

[Text Message]

[To: Kenjirou]

[Oh, no reason. Just been scrolling around on Facebook.]

[That Miya Osamu guy was a pretty awesome volleyball player back in the day, huh?]

[Do you know anything about him?]

[Miya Osamu]

 

[Text Message]

[From: Kenjirou]

[That’s what I figured this was about… I don’t know. He’s just a guy I’ve been talking to a bit.]

 

[Text Message]

[To: Kenjirou]

[Oh? How’d you two meet?]

 

[Text Message]

[From: Kenjirou]

[I’ll call you.]

 

Kawanishi smirked as his phone lit up with Kenjirou’s name accompanied with a rather unflattering picture of him asleep and drooling on his desk. Kawanishi had taken it their third year of high school during final exams.

 

“Hello, Kenjirou,” he answered the phone.

 

“Hello, Facebook stalker,” came the reply.

 

“For the record, I wasn’t ‘stalking’. Your shit was all over my news feed.”

 

“Uh huh.”

 

“So, Miya Osamu, huh?”

 

There was a heavy sigh. “We’re just friends. We’ve only been talking for a few weeks.”

 

“And?”

 

“I don’t know what else you want me to say.”

 

“Let’s talk about our feelings. You first.”

 

“You’re such a child.”

 

“I feel the same way. Your turn again.”

 

Another sigh. “I don’t know yet. He’s nice. He’s funny. He’s smart…”

 

“He’s pretty hot.”

 

“Ye-- Shut up.”

 

Kawanishi snorted. “I can feel your blush through the phone, Kenjirou. It’s okay to admit it.”

 

“Shut up, Taichi.”

 

“Alright, alright. So, Miya Osamu is a potential interest and that’s all. Got it. Good talk, Kenjirou.”

 

“I hate you.”

 

“Love you too. Let’s talk again soon, kay?”

 

“Whatever.”

 

“And… Kenjirou” Kawanishi’s voice grew serious.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“If… you know… shit happens, you know how to reach me.”

 

“...Thank you.”

 

“Talk to you later, lover boy.”

 

“Shut the fuck up, Taichi.”

 

Kawanishi chuckled and hung up. He didn’t know anything about Miya Osamu except he used to play volleyball in high school and he had a superstar setter of a twin brother.

 

“Miya Atsumu…” Kawanishi browsed the twin’s Facebook profile. Wait… Kenjirou knows Atsumu? Kawanishi clicked on a photo. Sure enough, Atsumu beamed at the camera, taking up half the photo. In the background on the side, Shirabu scowled at him. Atsumu had captioned the picture with “Say hi to my salty ass coworker!! --with Kenjirou Shirabu” Kawanishi snorted. He began laughing as he read through the comments.

 

Kenjirou Shirabu: yeah fuck you too miya

Atsumu Miya: i told you i was taking the picture!!

Kenjirou Shirabu: and i told you not to so previous statement still stands

Atsumu Miya: so mean shirabu :(

Kenjirou Shirabu: if you’re waiting for me to give a shit, better sit back and relax; it’s gonna be a while

Atsumu Miya: </3 bitch

Osamu Miya: hi salty ass coworker damn~ got any openings for me?

Atsumu Miya: don’t talk to him, samu. hes mean to me.  

Osamu Miya: well now I wanna talk to him more

Atsumu Miya: you fuckin traitor. stop flirting on my photo.

  


A few days passed and Kawanishi didn’t press Shirabu too much about the Miya twin. During a phone call, he only asked why he was after Osamu when he worked with Atsumu. Shirabu had sounded disgusted at the idea of dating Atsumu.

 

“Oh god, you don’t know that blond cretin like I do. Just… no. Never. Ew. I’d rather die alone.”

 

At least Shirabu wasn’t shallow, he supposed.

 

Kawanishi was lounging at his desk, procrastinating on an essay, when he heard a soft _ding!_ from his laptop. He clicked the tab he had Facebook open on and his eyes widened in surprise.

 

“New message from Osamu Miya...” he murmured to himself.

 

[Facebook Message]

[From: Osamu Miya]

[Hi Kawanishi-san. My name is Miya Osamu. Which you already know because it says that on the message… Anyways, I hope you’ve been well. I’m sorry if this is weird but I’ve recently become a friend of Shirabu’s and I’ve heard you’re his best friend so I was hoping you could help me.]

[I’m sure you’re very busy so I’ll just get right to the point. I really like Shirabu. A lot.]

[We were going to go out this weekend for the first time but I want everything to go as perfect as possible. I want to confess to him but if he doesn’t return my feelings, I want him to at least have had a good time.]

[I planned to take him to the aquarium, then to dinner at that beachside restaurant, and then confess to him on the pier at sunset. Is that too cheesy? Or too boring? I’ve tried to get clues from him on what he likes to do but I think he knew what I was up to because he kept changing the subject...]

 

Kawanishi was definitely impressed. Shirabu’s girlfriend hadn’t ever introduced herself to him and the boyfriend had only spoken to him once when Kawanishi had visited Shirabu one weekend. Their exchange had been very brief (“Hey, I’m Kawanishi.” “Ah yeah I’ve heard of you. Nice to meet you.” “Same.”)

 

[To: Osamu Miya]

[Hey, Miya. No need for the honorifics, dude. As for Kenjirou, I think what you have planned sounds good. Nice job, man. And just in case you guys want dessert, there’s an ice cream shop towards the end of the pier. It’s his favorite. Good luck.]

[Also, it may just be the way you type, but you seem nervous. Relax, dude. It’s just Kenjirou lol]

 

[From: Osamu Miya]

[Ah, I am a bit nervous… It’s hard for me to say it’s ‘just’ him because I really like him and I don’t want to screw anything up.]

[Also thank you very much for the ice cream shop suggestion. I’ll definitely take him there as well.]

[And uh, please call me Osamu. I have a twin, Atsumu, and we usually just go by our first names. It’s easier for everyone haha]

 

Kawanishi was usually skeptical of first impressions but something about this Miya guy seemed genuine… As he thought about it, another message window popped up.

 

[From: Kenjirou Shirabu]

[Taichi. Can I ask you for advice?]

 

Kawanishi snorted. This was like watching a fucking rom-com.

 

[To: Kenjirou Shirabu]

[Yeah sure. What’s up]

 

[From: Kenjirou Shirabu]

[Uh… Osamu asked me out yesterday for this weekend and I’m nervous.]

[What do I wear?]

[Do I tell him I like him?]

[Do you think he likes me?]

[I just figured since he asked me out, he might like me but maybe he just wants to hang out as friends?]

 

[To: Kenjirou Shirabu]

[Holy shit dude relax lol]

[Do you know what you guys are gonna do?]

 

[From: Kenjirou Shirabu]

[Uhh… He said he wanted to check out the aquarium, go get dinner somewhere, and then walk on the pier a bit]

 

[To: Kenjirou Shirabu]

[Hm… dinner where?]

 

[From: Kenjirou Shirabu]

[I don’t know. Probably just one of the little places on the pier, I’m guessing?]

 

Ah, so the fancy restaurant was a surprise…

 

[To: Kenjirou Shirabu]

[If I were you, I’d wear that dark purple button up and some dark wash jeans.]

[The outfit you wore to that team dinner in high school]

[Even Yamagata-san said you looked cool]

 

[From: Kenjirou Shirabu]

[Ok… yeah, that’s a good idea. It’s not too try-hard but it looks clean.]

[Thanks Taichi]

 

[To: Kenjirou Shirabu]

[No prob. Just be yourself and have fun]

[Or maybe be a little nicer than your usual self because you’re kind of a dick]

 

[From: Kenjirou Shirabu]

[Fuck you Taichi]

 

The weekend came and went and as expected, Kawanishi’s phone was bombarded with messages, half from Osamu and half from Shirabu. He smiled to himself; their date had gone well and it looked like Kenjirou had found himself a new boyfriend. The next day, it was Facebook official:

 

“Kenjirou Shirabu is now in a relationship with Osamu Miya”

 

Taichi Kawanishi: congrats you two, happy for you

Atsumu Miya: oh my god what the fuck really?? how?? what???

Atsumu Miya: YOU DIDN’T EVEN ASK FOR MY BLESSING SAMU HOW COULD YOU

Satori Tendou: LOL GO KENJIROU XD

Kenjirou Shirabu: @Taichi Kawanishi- thank you taichi  @Atsumu Miya- fuck off.  @Satori Tendou- thanks? I think

 

Kawanishi grinned to himself. He picked up his phone and began typing a message.

 

[To: Osamu Miya]

[Hey, Osamu. Congrats, dude. You seem like a good guy and I wish you two all the best. I just wanted to let you know that if you fuck with Kenjirou or turn into a cruel bastard and break his heart, I will hunt you down and break something(s) of yours.]

 

[From: Osamu Miya]

[Hey, Kawanishi. Thank you. For saying all of that. Kenjirou told me a bit about his past relationships and if I ever do anything like those assholes (which I absolutely do not plan to), I’m counting on you to uphold that promise. I don’t ever want to hurt him. I know what it feels like to be hurt too and he doesn’t deserve to feel that pain ever again.]

[Sorry that was pretty sappy but it’s just how I feel haha]

 

Kawanishi stared at the screen. Osamu was different than the others. Much different. Kawanishi would still be wary, but he honestly felt hopeful that Osamu would treat Shirabu right.

 

He thought for awhile on how to respond.

 

[To: Osamu Miya]

[Call me Taichi]

**Author's Note:**

> I like to justify Shirabu being OOC as Kawanishi being the only one to see certain sides to him as his best friend lol 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!


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